Improvement in bbeech-lqading fibe-arms



BARTON H. JENKS, OF BRIDESBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters PatentNo. 74,760, dated February Q5, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT III` BREEGH-LOADING fmII-ARMS.

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'.ro ALL wir-0M 1T MAY ooNoEItN:

Beit known that I, BARTON JENKS, of Brideshurg, in the county of'Philadelphia, andV State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain 'novel Improvements in Breach-Loading Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichy Y Figure 1 is a view of that side of the arm upon which the hammer is arranged, showin'g both the breechcloser and the hammer in a forward position.

Figure 2 is a similar v iew, showing the hammer and also the looking-latch drawn back to their fullest extent, to cock the piece and'to insert a cartridge.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal central section through the arm,`showing the position of the parts when thibreech-closer is locked in a propcrposition against the breech oi' the barrel. f

Figure 4 is a top view of fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cartridge-shell rctractor and its slide.

Figure 6 is a sectional view, similar to fig. 3, but showing the position of the parte when the brecch-closer is drawn back, as in fig; 2'.

Figure 7 is a vertical cross-section of the arm, taken at the point indicated by line y y, in iig. 3, showing the forward end of the breech-closer.

Figure 8 is a. side view of the hammer and breech-closer, and thelocking-latch, in the position of fig'I 1. lyligure 9 ,is a similar view of the same parts,7showing the hammer cocked and the breech-closer in the posinos-0f ag. s. 1

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures. x

This invention relates to an improvement on that class of breech-loading arms, which are adapted for the use ofxed ammunition and cartridge-shells, having the peroussion-powder confined within langes,'which are formedI around `the butts of the shells, so that when these anges are vstruck by a hammer, the powder in the shells will be ignited. l

The main object of this invention is to combine' with a slotted frame of an arm, a. vibrating breech-closer, a vibrating loeking-iatch, and brace for keeping the breech-closer firmly against the breech-end of the barrel when the arm is charged for firing, and also a vibrating-hammer, which latter is applied on one side, and outside of the said breech-closer, in such manner that, in the act of exposing the breech ofthe barrel by drawing back the breech-closer, the hammer will be cocked; then, upon'returning the 'breech-closer to its place against the breech ofthe barrel, and locking it there, thel hammer will be in a position for firing the piece, and at the same time provision is made for cocking the hammer without moving the brecch-closer,'as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to provide for securely locking the breech-closer in its. proper position, against the breech of the barrel, before the hammer can beoroleased to explode the cartridge, as will be hereinafter described. l

In the accompanying drawings I have not represented the wooden stock'and hand-pieces of the arm, as these parts may be made ofthe usual weil-known forms, and constitute no part of my invention.

The metallic frame, to which the barrel and the other parts of the arm are secured, consists of a hub-piece,V A, two vertical cheeks, B B, having a longitudinal space between them, which extends back to the tang B', and forward to the breech-end of the barrel C. The lower forward extensions of the cheeks B B also form a Space below the hub A, and have secured between them a. longitudinal portion, C', which projects forward, and is secured to the bottom of the barrel C, at'its forward end, by means of a serein-which also secures the mainspring ain place, as shown in iig. 3. 'lhe rear end ofthe barrel C is screwed or otherwise secured into the hub- A, so that the rear end ot'V the barrel is flush with thercar vertical end of the hub portion A. The rear end of the barrel is reamed out to receive the cartridge-shells, as shown in gs. 3 and 6, anda semicircular portion is out out of the barrel, at its rear end, and below itsaxis, for rceeivingthc cartridge-shell'retractor 8,' as will be hereinafter described, and below this space the rear end of the portion C is out away for the purpose of allowing the retraotor-stem and portion s to be moved snugly up to their place. Within the vertical space enclosed by the cheeks B B is pvoted a vibrating brcecheloscr, D, oi' a segment form. The front lat face of this closer D is constructed with an enlarged solid portion, b, having lateral projections b b', so as to present a strong abutmentto the breeclxcnd of the cartridge-shell, and to tit snugly against the vertical end of the barrel and hub, when the arm is in a condition for tiring, as shown in figs. 1, 3, and 4. The front face of this portion b is shown clearly in tig. 7, where it will be seen that there is a perforation through it on one side of its centre, through which the nose of the hammer passes to strike upon the flange of the cartridge. This segmental breechcloser is slotted vertically, so that all that portion of it which is in rear of and below the solid check-piece I), formstwo cheeks'for receiving between them thc locking-latch or brace, and also the tumbler, to which the hammer is secured. This segment, D, is pivoted between the two checks, D B, of the metallic frame by means of a transverse pin, c, which is located below the longitudinal axis of the barrel C, and slightly in rear of its breach, as shown in figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6, and the upper edges of its checks are curved concentric to the axis of said pin c, so that these edges will pass freely without touching the forward end of the tang B', as the segment is vibrated about its axis. The range of vibrating movement of the segment D will be seen by reference to the two figs. 3 and 6, one of which shows it when it is forced forward against the barrel, and the other shows it when drawn fully back. Between the two cheeks of the vibrating-segment D is the locking-latch E, which is pivoted by a transverse pin d, and allowed to have a vibratory movement independently of the movement of the segment to which it is pivotcd. The pivot-pin a of this latch is located near the solid breech portion b, and from its upper edge, near its forward ond, a. finger-piece, c, projects, as shown in several figures ofthe drawings. The forward end of this locking-latch E is bevelled so as to allow it to have a limited motion about its axis, and the rear end of this latch is curved concentrically to the axis ofthe pin d. The bottom edgej of the latch E has a nose, e', projecting from it for o. purpose which will be hereinafter explained.

The objectI of the piece E is chiefly to hold the segment breech-closer D firmly in the position, shown in figs. 1, 3, and 4, so that the recoil or shock of the discharge will be resisted by the solid portion or tang B. To effect this object, and also to allow this closer, D, to be drawn back to the position shown in figs. 2 and 6, for the insertion of a cartridge, the removal of a. cartridge-shell or blank, and for other purposes, the forward end of the tang D is curved concentric to the axis of the pin d of said latch, when the closer is forced forward to the position shown in figs. 1 and 3. In order to expose the breech of the barrel C it will be necessary' to place the hand upon the projection e, and force the rear end of the latch down clear of the abutment or tang B', when, by a further backward movement of the hand, the segment D can be drawn back to the position shown in figs. 2 and 6, which will give suflicient space in front of this closing-segment for the insertion of aball cartridge or the removal of an exploded shell.

On the outside of the segment breech-closer D is thel hammer F, which corresponds in segment-form to this closer, and which is pivoted upon the same pin c therewith, but not to this-pin, This hammer F is constructed' with'a iingcr-piece,f, projecting from its forward upper corner, and also with a nose, g,'on its forward edge, which nose is of sufficient length to pass through the perforation, which is made through one of the lateral projections, b, of the solid closing-portion b', tand strike the flange of the cartridge and explode the same, when the hammer is allowed to ily from a full cock to the position shown in figs. 1 and 8. The front edge of the hammer F is notched so that it willt snugly against the back surface of the projection b', when in the position shown in figs. 1 and 8. This hammer is secured to a tubular bearing, i, which passes through the cheeks of the segment D, and to this tubular bearing the tumbler G is secured between thie cheeks, so that the hammer and tumbler shall both move together about the axis of the pin c. The tumbler G is notched on its lower rounded edge to receive the sere of thc trigger H, and it is also constructed with an extension, which is of such length that, in moving forward, its extreme upper end would strike the lower edge j of the locking-brace E, and force this brace upward before the hammer could strike and explode the cartridge. But when the brace E is in a position in which it will sustain the shock of the discharge against the abutment of the tang-B', as shown in-g. 3, then the hammer will not be arrested in its forward movement. This projection or inclined plane on the tumbler G, will effect theA secure locking of the breech-closer D, before the hammer can explode the cartridge. l

When the locking-latch E is released from its shoulder-abutment on the tang portion B', and the segment breech-closer D is drawn back to the position shown in figs. 2 and 6, the hammer F, with its tumbler, G, will be cocked. The segment D is then moved forward again and locked in the position shown in tig. 9, leaving the hammer cocked. Duringrhe act-of exposing the brecch.of the barrel, by drawing back the segment D, the nose e', on the latch E, will impinge upon and inovc over the rounded back edge'of the trigger Il, and prevent any movement of the same until the breech of the barrel is again closed, and the segment locked in place.

'lho main-spring a, which maybe applied as shown in the drawings,'or in any other suitable manner, is connected at its rear end to the link c, which is pivoted to the tumbler G, and causes the hammer to explode the cartridge when this hammer is released from the trigger. Directly above the linkl c is the slide J, carrying the retractor for withdrawing the cartridge-shells from the breech of the barrel after every discharge of the piece. This slide J moves longitudinally in a slot at the bottom of the barrel C, and is constructed with a semicircular portion, s, on its rear end, which embraces one-half of the cartridge-shells and their flanges and withdraws the shells. On the extreme rear end of this sliding rctractor is an enlargement, t, transversely through which is an oblong slot. Through this slot a pin, v, passes, which connects the slide to th'e vibrating-closer D, directly beneath the check-plate b, as shown in figs. 3 and 6.

When the breech of the Abarrel is exposed, by drawing back the segment. D, the cartridge, or the blank cartridge-shell, as the case may be, wlll be drawn out as indicated -iriig. 6. Before closing the breech of the barrel, a cartridge is partially inserted therein,'so that its liange will bel in front ofthe retractor s, after which it may be forced in place by moving the parts in the position' for tiring the arm.

It will be seen from the above description that Ieiiect lthe combination of a vibrating breech-closer, a vibrating-hammer, and a vibrating locking-brace'or latch, and at tho same timel have the .hammer so arranged that it may be, at pleasure, cocked or half cocked, or released from a full cock, without moving the breechcloser. Also, that said hammer will be brought to u full cock by drawing back the breech-closer to insert :t cartridge, or to retract a blank shell. It will also be seen that the tumbler, which is connected to thc'tnbular y bearing of the hammer, as above set fortlnvis so arranged between the cheeks ofthe segment D, that it will pre` vent a premature discharge of the piece should the hammer Vbe released when the.lockinglatch is not in a. position to sustain the shock of the discharge against the abutment B.

Having thus describedmy invention, what claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1: Combining a vibrating slotted breech-piece, D, a vibrating locking-latch, E, and a hammer, F, in such manner that these parts are confined between the cheeks B of the frame, and the hammer is on the outside of the breech-piece, substantially as described.

2. Arranging the tumblerG between the cheeks of the vibrating breech-piece D, and allixing the hammer to vone end of the'tnbular bcaring'oi` said tumbler, substantially as described.

3. So combining a vibrating-hammer, F, which is arranged outside of a vibrating breech-piece, and between tlie frame-checks D, that said hammer can be full-.cocked or half vcocked without moving the breech-piece, substanially as described. l

4. Providing for cocliirig a hammer, which is arranged outside of and pivoted to the axis c of a vibrating breech-piece, in the act oi' drawing back the latter by means-of un extension, b', or its equivalent, substan- -tially as described.

5. The relative arrangement of the breech-piece D, locking portion E, tumbler G, and trigger H, the saine being constructed and operating substantially as set forth.

BARTON H. JENKS. Witnesses:

WILLIAM DoBsoN,

R. M. SnoUsE. 

